PARAGOULD (AP) — Gaylon Taylor accomplished almost everything he set his mind to in his career as a teacher, coach and administrator.

Now 53, he has started working full-time at a restaurant he owns in Paragould — a barbecue business that's been in his family for years. Even though he plans to put all his focus into the business for the next six months, he is hopeful that he'll be able to return to education.

Taylor said he worked for 28 years and retired on Oct. 1 from the assistant superintendent position at the Valley View School District. That was on a Monday.

"Tuesday, I was here all day cooking," he said.

The new restaurateur said he is eager to cook. He is interested in offering new lunch specials at Couch's such as homemade stew, white beans and cornbread, chili, and barbecue bologna. He also tries to avoid wastefulness — leftover biscuits are used to make bread pudding.

"I've always been able to cook," he said. "I enjoy cooking, and I think I'm pretty good at it."

Taylor's work will help give the restaurant manager some time off, he said. Couch's employs 25 full- and part-time personnel.

While working at the Valley View and Buffalo Island Central school districts, Taylor served as eighth-grade American history teacher, 12-year basketball coach, junior and senior high school principal, dean of students, transportation director, athletic director and assistant superintendent.

Taylor said he was basketball coach at Buffalo Island Central for nine years, and the teams under his direction were state champions twice. He also coached basketball at Valley View for three years.

He said he is proud of his accomplishments at the district, implementing incentives for academic success and establishing one of the first computer labs at a district in partnership with the Valley View PTA. Taylor said that with the help of the faculty, Valley View had some of the first lesson plans online.

"We were on the cutting edge there," he said.

Valley View also got a head start among other districts in starting teacher observations, Taylor said.

"They observe other teachers so they can be better teachers," he said.

Valley View Elementary School Principal Pam Clark said she worked with Taylor for years, including a time when both were history teachers.

"Gaylon will be greatly missed at Valley View," she said. "He was always someone here you could depend on to lend a helping hand and always worked to support our faculty and staff."

One of the most rewarding objectives for Taylor was to compose "one of the best coaching staffs" around, he said.

"I wanted to be able to have opportunities for kids so they could be able to compete," Taylor said. "That's what makes me tick — to provide kids with opportunities to excel and seeing teachers do the same. You empower them, they get ownership. They get ownership and they're set for success."

Taylor has an advantage stepping into the restaurant business: His parents opened Couch's 27 years ago. Taylor's late brother took it over from them and built the existing building on the south side of Paragould on U.S. 49. Taylor purchased the business from his brother, he said.

The 10,000-square-foot facility seats 285 customers and Taylor sees many of them. He tries to begin work at 8 a.m. and closes the kitchen on most days, he said.

Yet Taylor is quick to say, "I retired so I can get back in (education)." He plans to keep up with education trends and news, including the Common Core curriculum. He plans to look for a job as a superintendent in May, less than a year into his retirement.

"A lot of people said, 'Why leave in October?' I had to get to the point to where I could retire," he said. "I feel like there's a void. I still want to be a superintendent. The bigger the challenge, the more I'm up for something like that."

Taylor and his wife, Sandra, have two daughters: Emilee, a senior at Valley View High School, and Sarabeth Vasgaard, a certified public accountant in Fayetteville.